Transplantation device

ABSTRACT

A front end wire ring  10   1 , and a rear end wire ring  10   2  are arranged facing each other, and a tubular cover  7  connects the front and rear end wire rings  10   1  and  10   2 , and an intermediate wire ring  12  is arranged between the front and rear end wire rings  10   1  and  10   2 , wherein each of the wire rings  10   1   , 10   2  and  12  is given flexibly foldable elasticity. 
     The front and rear end wire rings  10   1  and  10   2  and at least the intermediate wire rings  12  arranged adjacent to the front and rear end wire rings  10   1  and  10   2  is connected with the cover  7  through a film member  30  so that the wire rings  10   1   , 10   2  and  12  can make a back and forth movement relative to the cover  7  within a certain range and that an annular gap formed between the wire rings  10   1   , 10   2  and  12  and the cover  7  is liquid-tightly sealed.

FIELD OF THE ART

This invention relates to appliances for medical treatment and, moreparticularly, to an appliance collapsible for insertion into a humanorgan and capable of resilient restoration (which will be referred to as“the appliance to be implanted” in this specification and claims).

BACKGROUND ART

The artificial blood vessel is an example of the appliance to beimplanted. At present, treatment of, for example, aortic aneurysm isconducted by implanting an artificial blood vessel. In particular, theportion of a blood vessel which has an aneurysm is removed by resection,and an artificial blood vessel is implanted in place of the resectedportion and connected to the remaining blood vessel by suturing or thelike.

The above-mentioned method of surgically implanting the artificial bloodvessel for treatment of aortic aneurysm, however, is highly dangerous.Especially, an emergency operation for treatment of a ruptured aneurysmhas a low life-saving rate, and an operation of dissecting aorticaneurysm is difficult to conduct and has a high death rate.

Therefore, in order to treat these diseases without a surgicaloperation, a method has been developed of introducing a catheter into anappliance such as an artificial blood vessel in a collapsed conditioninto a human organ such as a blood vessel, and transporting theappliance to a desired position such as an affected or constrictedportion thereof, where the appliance is released so as to be expandedand implanted there.

The appliance to be implanted is so constructed that a pair of flexiblyfoldable and elastic end wire rings are arranged, each of the end wirerings is connected by a tubular cover which is made of a sheet offlexible and tensile material and an intermediate wire ring is arrangedbetween both of the end wire rings and fixedly connected to theabove-mentioned tubular cover by suturing or with adhesive.

As a method of collapsing the appliance to be implanted, the followingmethod is adopted in which a plurality of hooking means for a pullstring to be passed are formed at every other dividing points each ofwhich equally divides the circumference of the front end wire ring intoan even number, the front end wire ring is folded into a wavy shape withthe dividing points which are provided with a hooking means for a pullstring forming forwardly directed peaks and the dividing points whichare not provided with a hooking means for a pull string forming thebottoms of forwardly directed valleys, each of the intermediate wirerings and the rear end wire ring is folded into a wavy shape having thesame phase as that of the front end wire ring and the whole artificialblood vessel is inserted into a catheter.

However, since the conventional appliance has an arrangement in whichthe cover is fixedly attached to the front and rear end wire rings alongthe circumference thereof, the cover tries to follow the movement of thefront and rear end wire rings and forms wrinkles near the front and rearend wire rings when the appliance is folded into a wavy shape. Then thewrinkles gather around the folded portion of the wire rings, thereby tobe bulky. This may hinder the appliance from being folded into a smallsize having an appropriate wavy shape. In addition, if the cover isfolded into a small size and making wrinkles, the cover may fail torestore smoothly to the original shape in a target position whenreleased. This may hinder the function of the appliance to be implantedas it is intended to.

In order to solve the above problems there is an appliance to beimplanted having an arrangement in which a front and rear end wire ringsare fixed to a cover not along all of the outer circumference thereofbut at several intermittent points so that the front and rear end wirerings can move freely at a certain degree relative to the cover. Theappliance to be implanted of this arrangement, however, might causeblood leakage from an annular gap between the cover and the wire rings,if used inappropriately.

The object of the invention is to solve all of the above-mentionedproblems.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The appliance to be implanted in accordance with the invention comprisesa front end wire ring, a rear end wire ring arranged facing to the frontend wire ring, a tubular cover which connects the front and rear endwire rings, and an intermediate wire ring arranged between the front andrear end wire rings, in which each of the wire rings is given flexiblyfoldable elasticity, and is characterized by having an arrangement inwhich each of the front and rear end wire rings and at least theintermediate wire rings arranged adjacent to the front and rear end wirerings is connected with the cover through a film member so that each ofthe wire rings can make a back and forth movement relative to the coverwithin a certain range and that an annular gap formed between each ofthe wire rings and the cover is liquid-tightly sealed.

In this specification it is a matter of course that a wire ring means awire made of material having a high resilient restoring force such asTi—Ni alloy, a wire whose circumference is covered with a protectivematerial such as a braid member is also included.

The arrangement of the film member may concretely be represented bybeing bag-shaped in which whole of each wire rings is wrapped and oneend of the film member is attached to the cover almost to surround theouter circumference thereof so as to allow each of the wire rings tomake a back and forth movement by making use of transformation of thefilm member. The film member may also be annular and each of the wirerings is attached along almost all of an outer circumferential end ofthe film member and an inner circumferential end of the film member isattached along almost all of the outer circumference of the cover so asto allow each of the wire rings to make a back and forth movement bymaking use of transformation of the film. The film member may also havea long and narrow space therein along the direction of back and forth inwhich each of the wire rings is wrapped so as to allow each of the wirerings to make a back and forth movement inside the space relative to thecover.

Another preferred arrangement of the film member may be represented bythat having a wavy shape undulating along the direction of thecircumference thereof and to a direction almost corresponding with adirection to which the wire rings are folded.

To improve a condition of the folded intermediate wire ring it ispreferable that the intermediate wire ring is wrapped in a mesh member,which is attached along almost all of an outer circumference of thecover.

To improve an implanting condition of the appliance to be implanted, itis preferable that an expanding element is filled in a space between thefilm member and each of the wire rings.

As a preferable arrangement of the expanding element, it may berepresented that the expanding element is a fiber which surrounds anouter circumference of a wire which mainly constitutes the wire rings ora powder which is filled in a space between the film member and the wirerings.

A concrete embodiment of the expanding element may be represented bysuper absorbing processed polymer which expands itself when it absorbsliquid.

To improve restoration force or attachability of the appliance to beimplanted, it is preferable that an auxiliary wire ring is attached tothe cover at a position almost corresponding to a position each of thewire ring is attached to the cover.

In this case, as a preferable implanting method of the appliance to beimplanted, it is represented that the circumference of the auxiliarywire ring is divided into four or an even number over four, hookingmeans are formed for a front pull string to be passed through at everyother dividing point, the auxiliary wire ring is folded into a wavyshape with the dividing points at which a hooking means is providedforming forwardly directed peaks and the other dividing points formingthe bottoms of forwardly directed valleys, each of the other wire ringsis folded into a wavy shape having the same phase as that of theauxiliary wire ring and the whole appliance to be implanted is insertedinto a catheter.

In addition, as another preferable implanting method of the appliance tobe implanted, it is represented that the circumference of a front end ofthe cover is divided into four or an even number over four and thathooking means are formed for a front pull string to be passed through atevery other dividing point, the front end of the cover is folded into awavy shape with the dividing points each of which is provided with ahooking means forming forwardly directed peaks and the other dividingpoints forming the bottoms of forwardly directed valleys, each of thefront end wire ring, the intermediate wire rings and the rear end wirering are folded into a wavy shape having the same phase as that of thefront end of the cover and the whole appliance to be implanted isinserted into a catheter.

A preferable embodiment of the appliance to be implanted may berepresented by an artificial blood vessel.

In accordance with the arrangement, it is possible to fold and restorein a body the appliance to be implanted smoothly, thereby to improve theimplanted condition of the appliance to be implanted. In other word,when the wire rings are folded into a wavy shape, each of the wire ringscan make a back and forth movement relative to the cover because of thefilm member through which each of the wire rings is connected with thecover. Then the cover does not have to follow the transformation of thewire rings completely, thereby to make a range in which the cover isfolded small compared with the wire rings and to avoid forming a bigwinkle when folded. As a result of this, the cover is prevented frombeing bulky, resulting in a compact appliance to be implanted whenfolded. In addition, since the cover can be collapsed without bringingin a big wrinkle, it can be restored into a tubular shape smoothly andquickly when released in a target position in a blood vessel. This makesit possible to provide the appliance to be implanted with goodtransporting movement in a catheter and restoration in an appropriatecondition in a target position, thereby to work effectively as it isintended to. The wire rings also are not hardly restricted from a freemovement to transform, thereby to secure the wire rings an appropriatefolding movement.

Since each of the wire rings is connected with the cover through thefilm member so that each of the wire rings can make a back and forthmovement relative to the cover and an annular gap formed between each ofthe wire rings and the cover is liquid-tightly sealed by the filmmember, it can be prevented from blood leakage from the annular gapbetween the wire ring and the cover. In addition, since the wire ringscan move freely to the cover, the wire rings gets a little influencefrom the cover and attaches tightly to an inner wall of an affectedblood vessel without fail, thereby to improve a seal effect. Thiscontributes to an improved condition of implanting the appliance to beimplanted by preventing blood flowing into an affected portion such asan aneurysm, which steadily leads to an improved success rate ofimplantation.

The above-mentioned operation functions for not only a simple tubularshaped appliance to be implanted but also a bifurcated Y-shapedappliance to be implanted.

With a film member being bag-shaped in which whole of each wire rings iswrapped and one end of the film member being attached to the coveralmost to surround the outer circumference thereof so as to allow eachof the wire rings to make a back and forth movement by making use oftransformation of the film member, a film member being annular and eachof the wire rings being attached along almost all of an outercircumferential end of the film member and an inner circumferential endof the film member being attached along almost all of the outercircumference of the cover so as to allow each of the wire rings to makea back and forth movement by making use of transformation of the filmmember, or film member having a long and narrow space therein along thedirection of back and forth in which each of the wire rings is wrappedso as to allow each of the wire rings to allow a back and forth movementinside the space relative to the cover, it is possible for the wirerings to make a back and forth movement relative to the cover with asimple arrangement. This arrangement also makes it possible toeffectively prevent from blood leakage through an annular gap betweenthe cover and the wire rings since both ends of the appliance to beimplanted make close adherence to an internal wall of a human organ.

In addition, if the film member has a wavy shape undulating along thedirection of the circumference and to a direction corresponding with adirection to which the wire rings are folded, a margin for folding eachof the wire rings can be made bigger, which makes a range of movement ofthe cover smaller when folded. As a result, it can effectively preventthe cover from bringing about wrinkles, thereby to secure an improvedfolding movement and restoration for the appliance to be implanted.

If the intermediate wire ring is wrapped in a mesh member, which isattached along almost all of an outer circumference of the cover, theintermediate wire ring is free from dragging resistance from the cover.This secures the intermediate wire ring to make a free movement so as tobe collapsed with ease. This also prevents the intermediate wire ringfrom being folded inappropriately.

If an expanding element is filled in a space between a film member andeach of the wire rings, both ends of the appliance to be implanted cantightly be attached to an inner wall of a human organ when inserted andreleased into the human organ when the expanding element is made toexpand. This arrangement is effective to prevent blood leakage from theboth ends of the appliance to be implanted.

If the expanding element is a fiber which surrounds an outercircumference of a wire which mainly constitutes the wire rings or apowder which is filled in a space between the film member and the wirerings, it is easy to store and expand the expanding element in the spacebetween the film member and the wire ring.

If the expanding element is super absorbing processed polymer whichexpands itself when it absorbs liquid, blood flows into the film memberwhen the appliance to be implanted is released in a body, thereby toattach both ends of the appliance to be implanted to an inner wall ofthe affected human organ with ease. If the appliance to be implanted is,for example, used as an artificial blood vessel, leakage of blood fromboth ends of the artificial blood vessel can effectively be prevented.

If an auxiliary wire ring is attached to the cover at a positioncorresponding to a position each of the wire ring is attached to thecover, the restoration force and the attachability to a human body ofthe appliance to be implanted can effectively be improved withcooperation with the wire rings when released in a body.

In order to implant the appliance to be implanted into a human body if amethod is used which comprises that the circumference of the auxiliarywire ring or a front end of the cover is divided into four or an evennumber over four, hooking means are formed for a front pull string to bepassed through at every other dividing point, the auxiliary wire ring orthe front end of the cover is folded into a wavy shape with the dividingpoints each of which is provided with a hooking means forming forwardlydirected peaks and the other dividing points forming the bottoms offorwardly directed valleys, each of the other wire rings is folded intoa wavy shape having the same phase as that of the auxiliary wire ring orthe front end of the cover and the whole appliance to be implanted isinserted into a catheter, it is possible to fold the appliance to beimplanted into a small size and to transport the appliance to beimplanted through a catheter, thereby to improve practicality and aproperty of general purpose of the appliance to be implanteddrastically.

If the appliance to be implanted is an artificial blood vessel, anoperation and an effect of the invention can sufficiently be produced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an artificial blood vessel in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of part of the artificialblood vessel.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a device for transporting the artificialblood vessel, used in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a device for introducing the artificialblood vessel, used in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cartridge which constitutes the devicefor introducing the artificial blood vessel.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of part of theattachment shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of part of thecartridge shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a funneled tube, used in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the artificial blood vessel throughwhich the device for transporting the artificial blood vessel is looselyinserted.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a step to hold the artificialblood vessel by means of the device for transporting the artificialblood vessel.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a step to hold the artificialblood vessel by means of the device for transporting the artificialblood vessel.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view showing part of the artificialblood vessel held by the device for transporting the artificial bloodvessel.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a step to introduce the artificialblood vessel into a catheter.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a step to introduce the artificialblood vessel into the catheter.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a step to introduce the artificialblood vessel into the catheter by means of forceps.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a front end wire ring, a filmmember and a cover of a conventional artificial blood vessel beingfolded.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a front end wire ring, a filmmember and a cover of the embodiment of the artificial blood vesselbeing folded.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory view showing the artificial blood vessel beingfolded in a funneled tube.

FIG. 19 is a partly cut-out side view showing the artificial bloodvessel inserted into the cartridge.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing each of the wire rings beingfolded.

FIG. 21 is a partly cut-out side view showing the cartridge from whichthe funneled tube is drawn out.

FIG. 22 is a partly cut-out side view showing the cartridge connected tothe attachment.

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view showing the artificial blood vesseltransported to an affected portion.

FIG. 24 shows a step to release the artificial blood vessel at theaffected portion in the blood vessel.

FIG. 25 shows a step to release the artificial blood vessel at theaffected portion in the blood vessel.

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view showing the artificial blood vesselreleased at the affected portion in the blood vessel.

FIG. 27 shows a step to expand the artificial blood vessel by means of aballoon catheter.

FIG. 28 is a cross sectional view showing the artificial blood vesselreleased at the affected portion in the blood vessel.

FIG. 29 is a modified form of the film member in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 30 is another modified form of the film member.

FIG. 31 is a further different modified form of the film member.

FIG. 32 is another different modified form of the film member.

FIG. 33 is a further different modified form of the film member.

FIG. 34 is a perspective view of an artificial blood vessel showinganother embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an artificial blood vessel in accordancewith a different embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an artificial blood vessel in accordancewith a further different embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 37 is a perspective view showing a device for transporting theartificial blood vessel in accordance with a further differentembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 38 shows a method of collapsing the artificial blood vessel inaccordance with further different embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 39 is a view showing a modified form of a device for transportingthe artificial blood vessel.

FIG. 40 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X1—X1 of FIG. 39.

FIG. 41 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Y1—Y1 of FIG. 39.

FIG. 42 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Z1—Z1 of FIG. 39.

FIG. 43 is a view of the device for transporting the artificial bloodvessel shown in FIG. 39 viewed from a different angle.

FIG. 44 is a view showing another modified form of the device fortransporting an artificial blood vessel.

FIG. 45 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X2—X2 of FIG. 44.

FIG. 46 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Y2—Y2 of FIG. 44.

FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Z2—Z2 of FIG. 44.

FIG. 48 is a view of the device for transporting the artificial bloodvessel shown in FIG. 55 viewed from a different angle.

FIG. 49 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified form correspondingto FIG. 47.

FIG. 50 is a view showing a further different modified form of thedevice for transporting the artificial blood vessel.

FIG. 51 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X3—X3 of FIG. 50.

FIG. 52 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Z3—Z3 of FIG. 50.

FIG. 53 is a view showing a further different modified form of thedevice for transporting the artificial blood vessel.

FIG. 54 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Z4—Z4 of FIG. 53.

FIG. 55 is an end elevational view taken along the line Z3—Z3 of FIG.53.

FIG. 56 is a view showing a further different modified form of thedevice for transporting the artificial blood vessel.

FIG. 57 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified form correspondingto FIG. 56.

FIG. 58 is a cross-sectional view showing a further different modifiedform of the device for transporting the artificial blood vessel.

BEST MODES OF EMBODYING THE INVENTION

The invention will be described in detail with reference to theembodiments thereof shown in the accompanying drawings.

The artificial blood vessel A as the appliance to be implanted, which iscollapsed by the method in accordance with this invention, comprises, asshown in FIG. 1, a cover 7, front and rear end wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂arranged at the front and rear ends 7 a, 7 b of the cover 7,intermediate end wire rings 12A arranged near the front and rear endwire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂, intermediate wire rings 12 arranged between theintermediate end wire rings 12A and a film member 30 which attaches thefront and rear end wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂, the intermediate end wirerings 12A and the intermediate wire rings 12 to the cover 7 so that thewire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂, 12A, 12 can make a back and forth movementrelative to the cover 7.

In this embodiment a wire made of material having a high resilientrestoring force such as Ti—Ni alloy will be referred to as wire rings.

The cover 7, as shown in FIG. 2, consists of a flexible, tensile sheetshaped into a tube of bellows, the normal diameter of which generallycorresponds to the shape of that portion of the human blood vessel atwhich the artificial blood vessel A is to be implanted. The sheet of thecover 7 is, for example, of warps extending in the axial direction ofthe artificial blood vessel A woven with wefts extending in thecircumferential direction thereof, wherein the warps are ofmono-filament made of polyester (about 15 denier) and the wefts are ofmulti-filament made of a plurality of superfine filaments (about 50denier) interwoven. The wefts are additionally woven with thread ofpolyethylene of about 10 denier to make the sheet of the cover 7 thinnerand stronger. The cover 7 is coated, if necessary, with waterproofmaterial, for example, collagen or albumin, to prevent leakage of blood.In addition, auxiliary front and rear end wire rings 31 ₁, 31 ₂ arefixed to the cover 7 by suturing or with adhesive at positions of thefront and rear ends 7 a, 7 b which correspond to positions at which thefront and rear end wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ are fixed to the cover 7. Theauxiliary front and rear end wire rings 31 ₁, 31 ₂ are made of a wirewhich is thinner than that constitutes the front and rear end wire rings10 ₁, 10 ₂. The auxiliary front and rear end wire rings 31 ₁ 31 ₂ givethe artificial blood vessel A restoring force and attachability to abody. As shown in FIG. 1, loop-shaped front hooking means 13 are formedat a pair of dividing points 41 ₁ and 43 ₁ facing each other across theaxis of four dividing points 41 ₁, 42 ₁, 43 ₁, 44 ₁ each of whichequally quadrisects the circumference of the auxiliary front end wirering 31 ₁. The hooking means 13 in accordance with the embodiment areformed of string. It may not necessarily be of string, but a holedirectly formed on the cover 7 may be utilized as the hooking means, ifthere is no trouble.

The front and rear end wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ are axially spaced apartand arranged face to face and inner diameter of them is set to be largerthan that of the abovementioned cover 7. The front and rear end wirerings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ are put in a bag-shaped film member 30 which is mountedon the front end 7 a or the rear end 7 b of the cover 7 so as to make aback and forth movement relative to the cover 7 as shown FIG. 2. Thefilm member 30 is bag-shaped in which whole of each of the front andrear end wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ is wrapped up and one end 30 a of thefilm member 30 is attached to the cover 7 almost to surround the outercircumference thereof with thread or by adhesive so as to allow each ofthe front and rear end wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ to make a back and forthmovement by making use of transformation of the film member 30 and toliquid-tightly seal a ring-shaped gap between the front and rear endwire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and the cover 7. More specifically, the filmmember 30 makes a back and forth movement relative to the cover 7through the end 30 a thereof, as shown in imaginary lines in FIG. 2,when the artificial blood vessel A is inserted into or released from acatheter in a collapsed condition. At that time the front and rear endwire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ wrapped in the film member 30 also make a back andforth movement relative to the cover 7. The film member 30 used in thisembodiment is made of the same material as the sheet which constitutesthe cover 7. The circumferences of the front and rear end wire rings 10₁, 10 ₂ are covered with protective braid members 10 a, as shown in FIG.2. The protective braid members 10 a are made of, for example, polyesterfiber tied up in a bundle like cotton. If a flexible protective membersuch as the braid member 10 a is circumferentially arranged on the frontand rear end wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂, the inner wall of a human organ caneffectively be prevented from getting damaged by direct contact with thefront and rear end wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂.

A plurality of intermediate wire rings 12 have an arrangement of beingwrapped with protective film such as cloth or braid members 10 a likethe above-mentioned front and rear end wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂, and arearranged general-equidistantly spaced between the front and rear endwire rings 10 ₁ and 10 ₂. Each of the intermediate wire ring 12 is fixedto the cover 7 at four specified positions on the circumference thereofwith thread, adhesive or the like and help keep the tubular shape of thecover 7 together with the above-mentioned front and rear end wire rings10 ₁, 10 ₂. In this embodiment each two of the intermediate end wirerings 12A arranged near the front and rear end wire rings 10 ₁ and 10 ₂are set to have a larger inner diameter than the inner diameter of thecover 7 and wrapped in a bag-shaped film member 30 so as to allow a backand forth movement relative to the cover 7 like the front and rear endwire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂. The film member 30 is attached to the cover 7 atone end 30 a thereof almost to surround the outer circumference thereofwith thread or by adhesive so as to allow each of the intermediate endwire rings 12A to make a back and forth movement through the film member30 and to liquid-tightly seal a ring-shaped gap between the intermediateend wire ring 12A and the cover 7.

In order to implant the artificial blood vessel A of the above-mentionedarrangement into a target organ of a human body, a device B fortransporting the artificial blood vessel (see FIG. 3) is used totransport the artificial blood vessel A to the target organ of the humanbody through the catheter 8 and a device C for introducing theartificial blood vessel (see FIG. 4) is used to introduce the artificialblood vessel A into the catheter 8.

The device B for transporting the artificial blood vessel, as shown inFIG. 3, comprises a flexible metallic tube 2 whose front end portion isconnected to a helical spring 2 a for guiding, a side window 1 formedadjacent the front end of the tube 2, a pair of strings 4 having boththeir ends fixed to the tube 2 adjacent the side window 1 and theirmiddle portions formed into loops to be looped portions 4 a, and alength of wire 3 slidably inserted into the tube 2. Instead of theabove-mentioned helical spring 2 a for guiding, a flexible tube may beused. The device for transporting the artificial blood vessel maycomprise the tube 2 and a length of wire 3 alone, which will bedescribed later.

The device C for introducing the artificial blood vessel, as shown inFIG. 4, comprises an attachment 5 integrally connected to the catheter 8through an open end 8 a thereof, and a cartridge 6 removably attached tothe attachment 5. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the attachment 5 comprisesa first and a second annular member 51, 52 which are internally threadedto form female screws, and a third annular member 53 which is externallythreaded to form male screws at opposite ends, which engages theabove-mentioned female screws thereby to connect the internal space ofthe first and the second annular members 51, 52 at its male screw part.The catheter 8 is formed to have an open end 8 a of a little largerdiameter and attached to the tip of the male screw of theabove-mentioned third annular member 53 at its open end 8 a. Then thethird annular member 53 is liquidtightly joins the interior of the openend 8 a of the catheter 8. Inside the second annular member 52 providedis a check valve 55 made of elastic membrane to close the open endthereof and outside of it fittingly provided is a cylinder-shapedhelical member 52 a having a helical groove. The cartridge 6, as shownin FIGS. 4, 5 and 7, comprises first and second annular members 61, 62which are internally threaded to provide internal female screws, a thirdannular member 63 which is externally threaded to form male screws atopposite ends, which engage the abovementioned female screws at oppositeends to connect the first and second annular members 61, 62, a strawmember 64 whose rear end is liquidtightly attached to the tip of one ofthe male screw parts of the third annular member 63 and the front end ofwhich is extending toward the direction to which the cartridge 6 isinserted, a cylinder-shaped guide pipe 65 having an internal diameterwhich can contain the straw member 64, one of whose ends integrallyconnected to the first annular member 61 and the other end thereofprovided with a large portion 65 a, and a cap 66 which is slidablymovable along the axial direction of the guide pipe 65 and loosely fitto the external of the guide pipe 65 and inside of which formed is ahelical groove which helically connects the helical member 52 a of theattachment 5. A check valve 68 made of elastic membrane is providedinside the second annular member 62 to close the open end thereof.

As shown in FIG. 4, the straw member 64 of the cartridge 6 is soconstructed that the front end portion 6 a thereof is removably fittedinto the rear end portion 5 a of the attachment 5. In particular, asshown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, the bore diameter d₁ adjacent the open end 8a of the catheter 8 is set generally the same as or a little larger thanthe bore diameter d₂ of the straw member 64 of the cartridge 6, and thelength L₂ of the straw member 64 extending from the large portion 65 aof the guide pipe 65 is set approximately equal to the length Li betweenthe end portion 5 a of the attachment 5 and the position a little deepfrom the open end 8 a of the catheter 8. The large portion 65 a formedon one end of the cartridge 6 is made abutting engagement with the endportion 5 a of the attachment 5 with the cap 66 helically mounted to theouter surface of the cylinder-shaped helical member 52 a as shown inFIG. 21, and the front end portion 6 a of the straw member 64 isinserted into the open end 8 a of the catheter 8 so that the strawmember 64 is smoothly connected to inside of the open end 8 a of thecatheter 8. The abovementioned check valves 55, 68 are made of elasticmembrane, in each of which a normally closed hole, not shown indrawings, is formed.

A funneled tube 18 as a guide tube, as shown in FIG. 8, is provided tohelp collapse the artificial blood vessel A. The funneled tube 18 isprovided with an enlarged inlet opening 18 a of an enlarged diameter atthe rear end portion, through which the tubular artificial blood vesselA is inserted into the funneled tube 18. The funneled tube 18 isgradually reduced in diameter from the enlarged inlet opening 18 a toend in a tubular connector 18 b of a smaller diameter at the front endportion thereof, so that the tube 18 has a tapered inner surface 18 d.The funneled tube 18 is, as shown in FIG. 17, removably connected to thecartridge 6 by inserting the front connector 18 b into the rear endportion 6 b of the cartridge 6.

The process of collapsing the artificial blood vessel A and implantingit into a position to be implanted, namely, a target portion (anaffected part 26 in FIG. 22) of a blood vessel 9 by means of the deviceB for transporting the artificial blood vessel and the device C forintroducing the artificial blood vessel of the above-mentionedconstructions, will now be described below.

First, the tube 2 of the device B for transporting the artificial bloodvessel is inserted through the artificial blood vessel A as shown inFIG. 9, and each of a pair of strings 4 is passed through each hookingmeans 13 of the artificial blood vessel A as shown in FIG. 10, and thelooped portions of the strings 4 overlap as shown at 4 a. Next, a wire 3has its forward end taken out of the side window 1 as shown in FIG. 11,and the overlapped portions of the looped portions 4 a are hooked overthe wire 3, and then the wire 3 has its forward end inserted again intothe tube 2 through the side window 1 so as to hold the artificial bloodvessel A on the wire 3 and the tube 2 through the strings 4 as shown inFIG. 12. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the artificial blood vessel A isinserted into the cartridge 6 shown in FIG. 4 through the funneled tube18 and with the forceps 19. In this embodiment the artificial bloodvessel A is inserted into the cartridge 6 using the forceps 19, however,the artificial blood vessel A may be folded into an appropriate wavyshape and inserted into the cartridge 6 by hand without using anyforceps. A concrete method for inserting the artificial blood vessel Ausing the forceps 19 will now be explained. First, the forceps 19 areput along the generatrices each of which passes through the dividingpoints 41 ₁ and 43 ₁ with a common front pull string 20 being passedthrough the front hooking means 13 provided at the dividing points 41 ₁,43 ₁ on the front end wire ring 10 ₁ of the artificial blood vessel A asshown in FIG. 13. Prior to this operation a balloon catheter 23, asshown in FIG. 14, may be attached to the tube 2, if necessary. Theballoon catheter 23 comprises a pipe 23 a, a balloon 23 b formed on thefront end portion of the pipe 23 a, and an opening 23 c provided in therear end of the pipe 23 a for air to be introduced into or taken out ofthe above-mentioned balloon 23 b through the pipe 23 a. The pipe 23 a isloosely fitted over the tube 2 of the above-mentioned device B fortransporting the artificial blood vessel. In other words, the rear endportion of the tube 2 of the device B for transporting the artificialblood vessel is drawn outside from the rear end of the balloon 23 b ofthe balloon catheter 23 while the front end portion of the tube 2 ispassed through the balloon 23 b of the balloon catheter 23 and exposedoutside, with the portions of the catheter 23 through which the tube 2is passed being airtightly sealed. The rear end portion of the pipe 23 ais removably connected to the tube 2 of the device B for transportingthe artificial blood vessel by a fixing member 24, and the ballooncatheter 23 and the tube 2 of the device B for transporting theartificial blood vessel can be moved together as a unit longitudinallywhen the fixing member 24 is fastened, and the balloon catheter 23 canbe moved longitudinally relative to the tube 2 of the device B when thefixing member 24 is loosened. The balloon catheter 23 is so positionedthat the front end thereof is spaced about 2 to 3 cm apart from the rearend of the artificial blood vessel A loosely fitted over the tube 2.Then the fixing member 24 on the balloon catheter 23 is fastened to fixthe catheter 23 to the tube 2 so that the catheter 23 and the tube 2 canbe moved together as a unit.

Before or after the above step, the funneled tube 18 is attached to acartridge 6 as shown in FIG. 15. In attaching the funneled tube 18 tothe cartridge 6, the connector 18 b of the funneled tube 18 is insertedinto the annular member 62 of the cartridge 6 so that the check valve 68of elastic membrane provided inside the annular member 62 is pushed openby the connector 18 b of the funneled tube 18 as shown in FIG. 17, andthe connector 18 b is inserted a little deep into the straw 64 of thecartridge 6. Then the artificial blood vessel A is inserted into insideof the funneled tube 18 through the enlarged inlet opening 18 a withpicked by forceps as shown in FIG. 15.

Then the auxiliary front end wire ring 31 ₁ of the artificial bloodvessel A is deformed to be flat with the positions picked up by theforceps 19, namely the dividing points 41 ₁, 43 ₁ approaching towardeach other to be pushed into the funneled tube 18 while the otherdividing points 42 ₁, 44 ₁ restrained from the movement toward thetubular connector 18 b by sliding contact with the tapered inner surface18 d of the funneled tube 18. When the auxiliary front end wire ring 31₁ reaches adjacent the tubular connector 18 b of the funneled tube 18,the auxiliary front end wire ring 31 ₁ as a whole is folded into aregular wavy shape with the dividing points 41 ₁, 43 ₁ forming forwardlydirected peaks and other dividing points 42 ₁, 44 ₁ forming the bottomsof forwardly directed valleys.

If a cover 507 is fixed to the front and rear end wire rings along thewhole circumference thereof, the cover 507 tries to follow the movementof the wire ring 510 ₁ completely as shown in FIG. 16. Then the cover507 is folded into a shape whose long axis being shorter and wrinklesgather at a certain point, thereby to be bulky.

In this embodiment, however, the front end wire ring 10 ₁ can make aback and forth movement relative to the cover 7 within a certain range.Then the cover 7 does not have to follow the transformation of the frontend wire ring 10 ₁ completely as shown in FIG. 17. This helps a range ofthe cover 7 being folded into a small size compared with that of thefront end wire ring 10 ₁. Therefore, the cover 7 can be collapsed intosmall without forming almost any wrinkles at a position near the frontend wire ring 10 ₁ being folded. The front end wire ring 10 ₁ can alsomove free from the cover 7 when folded, thereby to secure the front endwire ring 10 ₁ a free movement with ease. The intermediate end wirerings 12A, the intermediate wire rings 12, the rear end wire ring 10 ₂and the auxiliary rear end wire ring 31 ₂ also begin to transform into awavy shape having the same phase as that of the auxiliary front end wirering 31 ₁, as shown in FIG. 18, because both of them follow the movementof the front end wire ring 10 ₁ toward the tubular connector 18 b withpicked by forceps 19.

Under this condition, the forceps 19 are withdrawn from the funneledtube 18 and the front pull string 20 is pulled forward to fartherintroduce the artificial blood vessel A into the cartridge 6. As thefront pull string 20 is pulled forward, the pulling force applied to theauxiliary front end wire ring 31 ₁ is transmitted through the tubularcover 7 to the intermediate end wire rings 12A, the intermediate wirerings 12, the auxiliary rear end wire ring 31 ₂ and the rear end wirering 10 ₂, thereby to cause the intermediate end wire rings 12A, theintermediate wire rings 12, the auxiliary rear end wire ring 31 ₂ andthe rear end wire ring 10 ₂ to follow the movement of the auxiliaryfront end wire ring 31 ₁ and the front end wire ring 10 ₁. With theartificial blood vessel A perfectly contained in a cartridge 6 as shownin FIG. 19, the intermediate end wire rings 12A, the intermediate wirerings 12, the auxiliary rear end wire ring 31 ₂ and the rear end wirering 10 ₂ are collapsed into a small size to take a wavy shape havingthe same phase as that of the front end wire ring 10 ₁ and the auxiliaryfront end wire ring 31 ₁ as shown in FIG. 20.

At this time, the rear end wire ring 10 ₂ and the intermediate end wirering 12A can make a back and forth movement relative to the cover 7within a certain range, like the front end wire ring 10 ₁. Then thecover 7 does not have to follow the transformation of the wire rings 10₂ and 12A completely. This helps a range of the cover 7 being foldedsmall compared with the wire rings 10 ₂ and 12A. Therefore, the cover 7can be collapsed into small without forming almost any wrinkles at aposition near the front end wire ring 10 ₂, 12A being folded. The wirerings 10 ₂ and 12A can also move free from the cover 7 when folded,thereby to secure the wire rings 10 ₂ and 12A a free movement with ease.

Next, the front pull string 20 is untied or cut at an appropriateposition thereof and pulled at its end so as to be withdrawn from thefront hooking means 13, and the funneled tube 18 is withdrawn from thecartridge 6. Consequently, the artificial blood vessel A is contained inthe straw 64 of the cartridge 6, as shown in FIG. 21, and only theballoon catheter 23 in which the tube 2 is provided is exposed outsidethrough the rear end portion 6 b of the cartridge 6 with the check valve68 opened a little.

On the other hand, the catheter 8 has been previously inserted throughas shown in FIG. 22, for example, the coxal artery adjacent the groin Finto the blood vessel 9 as far as the front end of the catheter 8 hasbeen positioned a little beyond the affected portion 26 such as ananeurysm of the aorta as shown in FIG. 23. The attachment 5 connected tothe open end 8 a of the catheter 8 is, as shown in FIG. 22, exposedoutside the body. Next, the straw 64 of the cartridge 6 into which theartificial blood vessel A has been inserted is pushed into theattachment 5 through the rear end portion 5 a thereof until the largeportion 65 a makes abutting engagement with the rear end portion 5 awith the check valve 5 opened as shown in FIG. 22 and the cap 66 isadvanced to helically connect to the outer surface of the helical member52 a. Then the straw 64 of the cartridge 6 is positioned so that thefront end 6 a thereof is smoothly connected to the inner surface of theopen end 8 a of the catheter 8 and this condition is kept by the helicalconnection of the cap 66 and the helical member 52 a. Under thecondition, the balloon catheter 23 is gripped and the balloon catheter23 is pushed so as to be inserted gradually deeply into the catheter 8.As the tube 2 is, as shown in FIG. 14, connected to the balloon catheter23 through the fixing member 24 and the artificial blood vessel A isheld by the tube 2, movement of the balloon catheter 23 causes theartificial blood vessel A to be transported gradually to the deepposition in the body. The balloon catheter 23 is pushed until the frontend of the tube 2 is positioned at the front end of the catheter 8, asshown in FIG. 23. At this time the artificial blood vessel A ispositioned at the affected portion 26 as the target position. Then, asthe catheter 8 is withdrawn as shown in FIG. 24, with the ballooncatheter 23 and the tube 2 into which the wire 3 is inserted left at theobjective position, the collapsed artificial blood vessel A in thecatheter 8 is released at the affected portion 26 in the blood vessel 9while expanding gradually from the front end as shown in FIGS. 24, 25and 26. The released artificial blood vessel A is restored to itsoriginal tubular shape and urged against the inner wall of the bloodvessel 9. In other words, when the artificial blood vessel A collapsedinto small as shown in the figures is released from the catheter 23,each of the quadrisecting points elastically restores to a directiongenerally perpendicular to the blood vessel 9. Consequently, theartificial blood vessel A restores itself with each end portion thereofopen and the internal space of the artificial blood vessel A is notclosed by the internal wall of the blood vessel 9.

Especially in this embodiment, since the cover 7 is collapsed withoutforming a big wrinkle, the cover 7 restores to an original tube-shapequickly and easily with responding to each wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and 12Arestoring to their original shape when released from the catheter.

Then the fixing member 24 shown in FIG. 14 is loosened to disconnect theballoon catheter 23 from the tube 2, and the balloon catheter 23 isadvanced along the tube 2 into the artificial blood vessel A with thetube 2 kept at the objective position as far as the front end of theballoon catheter 23 reaches the front end of the artificial blood vesselA as shown in FIG. 33, whereupon the balloon 23 b is inflated byintroducing air through the opening 23 c as shown in FIG. 25 thereby torestore the artificial blood vessel A completely to its original shapeand securely fix it onto the inner wall of the blood vessel. After theartificial blood vessel A has been thus fixed, the balloon 23 b of theballoon catheter 23 is deflated by drawing air through the opening 23 cand the balloon catheter 23 is pulled out from the artificial bloodvessel A by pulling the pipe 23 a rearwardly. Then it is confirmed thatthe artificial blood vessel A has been fixed onto the inner wall of theblood vessel 9, and then the wire 3 is pulled out of the tube 2. As thefront end of the wire 3 passes the rear edge of the side window 1 of thetube 2 as shown in FIG. 10, the loop portion 4 a of the string 4 thathas been caught by the wire 3 at the side window 1 is released from thewire 3. Under the condition, when the tube 2 is pulled out, the string 4slips out of the front hooking means 13 of the artificial blood vesselA. The balloon catheter 23 and the tube 2 are then connected again bythe fastener 24 and pulled out of the human body with only theartificial blood vessel A left at the desired position in the bloodvessel 9.

As mentioned above, in accordance with the invention, the artificialblood vessel A is implanted into the affected portion 26, and restoredto its original shape, thereby to effectively prevent occlusion of theaffected portion 26 in the blood vessel 9. With the above-mentionedartificial blood vessel A and its collapsing method, the artificialblood vessel A can be collapsed with ease and accuracy.

Especially, in this embodiment since the front and rear end wire rings10 ₁, 10 ₂ and intermediate end wire wing 12A are fixed to the cover 7so as to allow a back and forth movement relative to the cover 7, it canbe prevented that a big wrinkle is formed in a cover 7 when collapsedinto small, thereby to fold the artificial blood vessel A smoothly andto restore the artificial blood vessel A in a body smoothly. Thiscontributes to an improved condition of implanting the artificial bloodvessel A. In addition, since the annular gap formed between each of thewire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and 12A and the cover 7 is liquidtightly sealed,the artificial blood vessel A produces an improved sealing effect on thefront and rear end thereof, thereby to effectively prevent the bloodleakage from the annular gap between the wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and 12Aand the cover 7. Further, since each of the wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and12A can move freely to the cover 7 as shown in FIG. 28, each of the wirerings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and 12A gets a little influence from the cover 7 andtightly attaches to the inner wall of the affected blood vessel, therebyto improve a seal effect. This improves a condition of implanting theartificial blood vessel A by preventing blood flowing into an aneurysm,which will surely lead to a high successful rate of implantation.

In addition, since the front and rear end auxiliary wire rings 31 ₁, 31₂ are arranged on the front and rear end 7 a, 7 b of the cover 7, theycan help the artificial blood vessel A attach tightly to the inner wallof the affected blood vessel with cooperation with the front and rearend wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ when released from the catheter, thereby toimprove attachability of the artificial blood vessel A to a human body.

The present claimed invention is not limited to the embodiment describedabove.

For example, as shown in FIG. 29, the film member 32 may be an annularfilm. Each of the front and rear end wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ andintermediate end wire rings 12A is respectively attached to the filmmember 32 at positions which almost surround the outer circumferentialend 32 a of the film member 32, and the inner circumferential end 32 bof the film member 32 is attached to the cover 7 at positions whichalmost surround the outer circumference of the cover 7. In this case thefilm member 32 allows each of the wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and 12A to makea back and forth movement relative to the cover 7 by making use of thetransformation of the film member 32. The film member 33, as shown inFIG. 30, may be annular, in which case, the film member 33 wraps each ofthe front and rear end wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and intermediate end wirerings 12A at almost all the outer circumferential end 33 a thereof andthe inner circumferential end 33 b of the film member 33 is attached tothe cover 7 at positions which almost surround the outer circumferenceof the cover 7. In this case the film member 33 allows each of the wirerings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and 12A to make a back and forth movement relative tothe cover 7 by making use of the transformation of the film member 33.

The film member 34, as shown in FIG. 31, may form a space between thecover 7 and itself and in the space each of the front and rear end wirerings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and the intermediate end wire ring 12A is wrapped andeach of the wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and 12A can make a back and forthmovement relative to the cover 7. The film member 35, as shown in FIG.32, may have a long and narrow space therein along the direction of backand forth in which each of the wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and 12A is wrappedso as to allow a back and forth movement relative to the cover 7.

With these arrangements, the same effects can be obtained as that of theabove-described embodiment.

Further, as shown in FIG. 33, the film member 36 and the cover 7 mayhave a wavy shape undulating along the circumference of the film member36 and the cover 7 with a peak facing a peak of the wire rings and avalley facing a valley of the wire rings when the wire rings are foldedinto a wavy shape. With the arrangement, since a margin for folding eachof the wire rings can be made bigger, a range of movement of the cover 7can be made smaller. As a result, it can effectively prevent the cover 7from bringing about wrinkles, thereby to secure an improved foldingmovement and restoration of the artificial blood vessel A.

In addition if the above film members 30, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36 are madeof an elastic fiber, the cover 7 can more effectively be prevented fromcausing wrinkles when collapsed into small.

Super absorbing processed polymer as an expanding element which expandsitself when absorbing liquid may be filled in a space formed betweeneach of the wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂, 12A and the film member 30, 32, 33,34, 35 or 36. If blood flows into a bag-shaped film member 30, 32, 33,34, 35 or 36 when the artificial blood vessel is collapsed into small,inserted into a body and released in the body, the expanding elementexpands itself in the bag-shaped film member 30, 32, 33, 34, 35 or 36.Then the film member 30, 32, 33, 34, 35 or 36 tightly attaches to theinner wall of blood vessel, thereby to improve a sealing effect of theartificial blood vessel A. An embodiment of the super absorbingprocessed polymer may be represented by a fiber of the super absorbingprocessed polymer which winds around the outer surface of each of thewire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂, 12A, or a powder of the super absorbing processedpolymer filled in a space formed between each of the film member 30, 32,33, 34, 35 or 36 and each of the wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and 12A.

Further, if the front and rear end wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and theintermediate end wire ring 12A completely float in a bag-shaped filmmember 30, 34 or 35, a force to restore to its original shape may not betransferred appropriately to the wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂, 12A. In such acase, each of the wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂, 12A is preferably fixed to thecover intermittently by a string or something like that.

In the above embodiment, the circumferences of the front and rear endwire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and the intermediate end wire ring 12A are coveredwith protective braid members 10 a, however, it is a matter of coursethat the wire rings 10 ₁, 10 ₂ and 12A without any protective memberssuch as braid members 10 a can be wrapped in a film member.

In the above embodiment, the intermediate wire rings 12 are fixedlyattached to the cover 7 by suturing or with adhesive intermittently at 4points, however, midpoints between each of the adjacent points may berestricted from moving by an elastic or a longish string so that theintermediate wire rings 12 are fixed at 8 points or 16 points. Asmentioned above, the intermediate wire ring 12 is fixedly attached tothe cover 7 at the midpoints between each of the adjacent points with acertain free movement being secured for the intermediate wire ring 12.Since the intermediate wire ring 12 is free from dragging resistancefrom the cover 7, the free movement is secured for the intermediate wirering 12 when collapsed and it can be prevented from being bent at aninappropriate position, thereby to fold the artificial blood vessel Ainto an appropriate wavy shape. Instead of this arrangement, it is alsoeffective that the intermediate wire ring 12 is fixedly attached to thecover 7 at the points which is displaced to a direction to be folded.

Further, although not shown in drawings, the intermediate wire ring 12may be wrapped in a mesh member, which is attached to surround almostall of the circumference of the cover 7. In accordance with thearrangement, the intermediate wire ring 12 is free from draggingresistance from the cover 7, the free movement is secured for theintermediate wire ring 12 so as to be collapsed with ease and it can beprevented from being bent at an inappropriate position.

This invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Forexample, if the vessel of the affected portion where the artificialblood vessel is to be implanted is different from the above mentionedand bifurcated, it is effective to use the artificial blood vessel Dshown in FIG. 34. The artificial blood vessel D is to be implanted, forexample, into the blood vessel of the groin. The artificial blood vesselD has fundamentally the same arrangement as that of the above-mentionedembodiment. This artificial blood vessel D, however, is for fitting theshape of the blood vessel into which the artificial blood vessel D is tobe implanted and is characterized by that a single front end wire ring110 ₁ is arranged to face to two rear end wire rings 110 ₂ arranged inparallel and each of whose diameter is smaller than that of the frontend wire rings 110 ₁, and a bifurcated tubular cover 107 connects thefront end wire rings 110 ₁ and two rear end wire rings 110 ₂. Andintermediate wire rings 112 ₁ each of whose diameter is generally thesame as that of the front end wire rings 110 ₁ are arranged at theposition whose diameter is the same as that of the front end wire ring110 ₁, while intermediate wire rings 112 ₂ each of whose diameter isgenerally the same as that of the rear end wire ring 110 ₂ are arrangedat the position whose diameter is the same as that of the rear end wirering 110 ₂. Each of the intermediate wire rings 112 ₁, 112 ₂ is fixed tothe cover 107 at a plurality of separate positions on the circumferencethereof as the same as in the former embodiment. In the above bifurcatedartificial blood vessel D, like the artificial blood vessel A of theformer embodiment, if each of the single front end wire ring 110 ₁, twoof the intermediate wire rings 112 ₁A arranged near the front end wirerings 110 ₁, two rear end wire rings 110 ₂ and two of the intermediatewire rings 12 arranged between the intermediate end wire rings 112 ₂A isconnected to the cover 7 through a film member 130 so that each of thewire rings 110 ₁, 112 ₁A, 110 ₂, 112 ₂A can make a back and forthmovement relative to the cover 7 and that annular gaps between the wirerings 110 ₁, 112 ₁A, 110 ₂, 112 ₂A and the cover 7 can liquidtightly besealed, the same effect as that of the above-mentioned artificial bloodvessel A can be obtained.

This invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Forexample, in the above embodiment, the auxiliary front end wire ring 31 ₁has its circumference divided into four equal arcs to set four dividingpoints. As shown in FIG. 35, an auxiliary front end wire ring 231 ₁ mayhave its circumference divided into eight arcs to set eight dividingpoints 241 ₁, 242 ₁, 243 ₁, 244 ₁, 245 ₁, 246 ₁, 247 ₁, 248 ₁, four ofwhich 241 ₁, 243 ₁, 245 ₁, 247 ₁ are provided with a hooking means andother four 242 ₁, 244 ₁, 246 ₁, 248 ₁ are not provided with a hookingmeans. As shown in FIG. 36, an auxiliary front end wire ring 331 ₁ mayhave its circumference divided into six arcs to set sic dividing points341 ₁, 342 ₁, 343 ₁, 344 ₁, 345 ₁, 346 ₁, three of which 341 ₁, 343 ₁,345 ₁ are provided with a hooking means and other three 342 ₁, 344 ₁,346 ₁ are not provided with a hooking means.

In the above embodiment, the device for transporting the artificialblood vessel is provided with a pair of strings having loop portions.The strings are not always to be provided in a pair. The stringsprovided in a pair, however, are effective because a balanced pullingforce can be applied to the artificial blood vessel. The loop portionsmay be twisted as a whole. A device for transporting the artificialblood vessel comprising only a tube and a wire and which is not providedwith strings may be used. For example, as shown in FIG. 37, fronthooking means 413 formed on the front end wire ring 410 ₁ are made alittle longer, each of loop portions of the front hooking means 413 areoverlapped, and a wire 403 pulled out of a side window 401 of a tube 402is passed though and inserted into the overlapped loop portion so as tokeep the artificial blood vessel. If there is no trouble to form holesdirectly on the tubular cover, it is also possible to keep theartificial blood vessel by means of a wire and a tube with making use ofthe holes as a hooking means.

Therefore, such a device for transporting the artificial blood vesselcan be used to a patch to close a hole formed on a heart or the like.

In order to collapse the artificial blood vessel A into a small size byinserting it into a funneled tube 18 from a large portion 18 a toward asmall portion 18 b the artificial blood vessel A may be previouslycontained in a pipe member 600 having a diameter bigger than that of thesmall portion 18 b of the funneled tube 18 and smaller than that of thelarge portion 18 a of the funneled tube 18 as shown in FIG. 38. Justinserting the pipe member 600 into the funneled tube 18 so as to makeabutting engagement with the inner surface of the funneled tube 18 andpulling out the artificial blood vessel A from the side of the front endwire ring enables the artificial blood vessel A to be collapsed into asmaller size so as to be inserted into the small portion 18 b of thefunneled tube 18 and a catheter.

In each of above-described the embodiments, the device B fortransporting the artificial blood vessel can be modified. The device Bfor transporting the artificial blood vessel comprises a flexiblemetallic tube 2 whose front end portion is connected to a helical spring2 a for guiding, a side window 1 formed adjacent the front end of thetube 2, a pair of strings 4 having both their ends fixed to the tube 2adjacent the side window 1 and their middle portions formed into loopsand a length of wire 3 slidably inserted into the tube 2. The sidewindow formed in the tube 2, shown in FIGS. 39 through 43, comprises thefirst and the second opening holes 11H and 12H each spaced apart. Thewire 3 pulled out of the tube 2 though the first opening hole 11H ishooked by the strings 4 and then introduced into the tube 2 through thesecond opening hole 12H. Thus arranged device B for transporting theartificial blood vessel does not require a big opening like the sidewindow shown in FIG. 3. As a result of this, the tube 2 around the sidewindow is thick enough to prevent bending, thereby effectively improvingstrength of the device B. In this case the cross section of the device Bmay have a flat portion 2X between the opening holes 11H and 12H asshown in FIGS. 44 though 48. With the device B having the flat portion2X, the wire 3 pulled out of the first opening hole 11H can be insertedinto the second opening hole 12H with the wire 3 remaining relativelystraight. Then the wire 3 can effectively be prevented from bending andit also avoids a case that the wire 3 fails to be pulled out of the tube2. FIG. 49 shows another cross section having a concaved portion 2Y. Asa further different modified form shown in FIGS. 50 though 52, the tube2 may comprise two tube elements 2A and 2B each spaced apart, and aconnector 2C for connecting the outer circumferences of both tubeelements 2A and 2B. No matter what arrangement the tube has, as far asthe tube is strong enough as a whole, the device for transporting theartificial blood vessel can transport artificial blood vesselsappropriately. The tube comprising two tube elements is especiallyeffective for a tube having an extremely small diameter. If the tube ofan extremely small diameter is provided with a side window, the windowoccupies most of the tube, which may weaken the strength of the tube.Consequently, the tube comprising two tube elements 2A and 2B can keepan appropriate strength as far as the material used for the connector 2Cis strong enough. The connector 2C may connect the internalcircumferences of two tube elements 2A and 2B as shown in FIGS. 53through 55. The cross section of the connector 2C is not limited to acircle, but may be flat or flat having a partial ark. The two tubeelements 2A and 2B may be connected by a plurality of the connector 2C,which are not shown in drawings.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 56 and 57, the two tube elements 2A and2B may be connected by three cylindrical connecting members 2D, 2E and2F which constitute a tube connector, each of which is arranged alongthe outer circumference of the tube elements 2A, 2B and one connectingmember 2E which locates the center is longer than the other connectingmembers 2D, 2F so as to project left and right. When the tube elements2A, 2B are bent, an excessive force is not applied to a portionconnecting the connecting members 2D, 2E, 2F and the tube elements 2A,2B and an elastic force of the connecting members 2D, 2E, 2F will varysmoothly along the longitudinal direction around the connected portion,thereby to keep the tube elements 2A and 2B in a shape forming a naturalcurve.

A cylindrical connecting member 2G which constitutes the tube connectormay have, as shown in FIG. 58, both ends tapered to form a taperedportion in which a cross section thereof decreases gradually and outercircumference of the tapered portion and the tube elements 2A, 2B iscovered by a cap K made of resin so as to connect the tube elements 2Aand 2B. When the tube elements 2A, 2B are bent, a direction to which thecylindrical member 2G bends is not specified and a portion connectingthe member 2G and the tube elements 2A, 2B can flexibly follow themovement of bending the tube element 2A, 2B, thereby to keep the tubeelements 2A and 2B in a shape forming a natural curve without anexcessive force applied to the connected portion.

Further, the device B for transporting the artificial blood vessel shownin FIGS. 39 through 58 may not have a string 4. In this case, the deviceB can pull the artificial blood vessel A effectively if the wire 3 isdirectly inserted into hooking means or a hole directly formed on thecover.

It is also effective if a part or whole of the catheter 8 is made ofbellow, although not shown in figures.

A catheter 8 of a simple cylindrical shape is not only easy to break butalso difficult to restore if once broken, which may lead to stricture ina body. While the catheter 8 made of bellow fits to a bent portion ofthe body easily with forming a natural curve, thereby to effectivelyavoid stricture in a body. Thus bellow-shaped catheter is suitable fortransporting various kinds of appliances in addition to artificial bloodvessels.

The device B for transporting the artificial blood vessel used in theabove embodiments can be applied to transport various kinds ofappliances in addition to artificial blood vessels so as to introducethem into a body.

POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS IN INDUSTRY

As mentioned above, the appliance to be implanted in accordance with theinvention is valuable as an artificial blood vessel. It is possible tosmoothly fold and restore the artificial blood vessel by the arrangementin which the front and rear end wire rings and at least the intermediatewire rings arranged adjacent to the front and rear end wire rings isconnected with the cover so that the wire rings can make a back andforth movement relative to the cover within a certain range.

What is claimed is:
 1. An appliance to be implanted comprising a frontend wire ring, a rear end wire ring-arranged facing to the front endwire ring, a tubular cover which connects the front and rear end wirerings, and an intermediate wire ring arranged between the front and rearend wire rings, in which each of the wire rings is given flexiblyfoldable elasticity, and characterized by that the appliance to beimplanted has an arrangement in which each of the front and rear endwire rings and at least the intermediate wire rings arranged adjacent tothe front and rear end wire rings is connected with the cover through afilm member so that each of the wire rings can make a back and forthmovement relative to the cover within a certain range and that anannular gap formed between each of the wire rings and the cover isliquid-tightly sealed.
 2. The appliance to be implanted, described inclaim 1 and characterized by that said film member is bag-shaped inwhich whole of each wire rings is wrapped and that one end of said filmmember is attached to the cover almost to surround the outercircumference thereof so as to allow each of the wire rings to make aback and forth movement by making use of transformation of the filmmember.
 3. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1 andcharacterized by that said film member is annular and each of the wirerings is attached along almost all of an outer circumferential end ofthe film member and an inner circumferential end of the film member isattached along almost all of the outer circumference of the cover so asto allow each of the wire rings to make a back and forth movement bymaking use of transformation of the film member.
 4. The appliance to beimplanted, described in claim 1 and characterized by that said filmmember has a long and narrow space therein along the direction of backand forth in which each of the wire rings is wrapped so as to allow eachof the wire rings to make a back and forth movement inside the spacerelative to the cover.
 5. The appliance to be implanted, described inclaim 2 and characterized by that said film member has a wavy shapeundulating along the direction of the circumference thereof and to adirection almost corresponding with a direction to which the wire ringsare folded.
 6. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1 andcharacterized by that said intermediate wire ring is wrapped in a meshmember, which is attached along almost all of an outer circumference ofthe cover.
 7. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1, andcharacterized by that an expanding element is filled in a space betweensaid film member and each of the wire rings.
 8. The appliance to beimplanted, described in claim 7 and characterized by that said expandingelement is a fiber which surrounds an outer circumference of a wirewhich mainly constitutes said wire rings.
 9. The appliance to beimplanted, described in claim 7 and characterized by that said expandingelement is a powder which is filled in a space between said film memberand said wire rings.
 10. The appliance to be implanted, described inclaim 7, 8 or 9 and characterized by that said expanding element issuper absorbing processed polymer which expands itself when absorbingliquid.
 11. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1 andcharacterized by that an auxiliary wire ring is attached to the cover ata position almost corresponding to a position each of the wire ring isattached to the cover.
 12. The appliance to be implanted, described inclaim 11 and characterized by that the circumference of said auxiliarywire ring is divided into four or an even number over four, hookingmeans are formed for a front pull string to be passed through at everyother dividing point, said auxiliary wire ring is folded into a wavyshape with the dividing points each of which is provided with a hookingmeans forming forwardly directed peaks and the other dividing pointsforming the bottoms of forwardly directed valleys, each of the otherwire rings is folded into a wavy shape having the same phase as that ofthe auxiliary wire ring and the whole appliance to be implanted isinserted into a catheter.
 13. The appliance to be implanted, describedin claim 1 and characterized by that the circumference of the front endof said cover is divided into four or an even number over four and thathooking means are formed for a front pull string to be passed through atevery other dividing point, said front end of the cover is folded into awavy shape with the dividing points each of which is provided with ahooking means forming forwardly directed peaks and the other dividingpoints forming the bottoms of forwardly directed valleys, each of thefront and rear end wire rings and the intermediate wire rings are foldedinto a wavy shape having the same phase as that of the front of thecover and the whole appliance to be implanted is inserted into acatheter.
 14. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1 andcharacterized by that said appliance to be implanted is an artificialblood vessel.
 15. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 4and characterized by that said film member has a wavy shape undulatingalong the direction of the circumference thereof and to a directionalmost corresponding with a direction to which the wire rings arefolded.
 16. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 2 andcharacterized by that an expanding element is filled in a space betweensaid film member and each of the wire rings.
 17. The appliance to beimplanted, described in claim 3 and characterized by that an expandingelement is filled in a space between said film member and each of thewire rings.
 18. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 4 andcharacterized by that an expanding element is filled in a space betweensaid film member and each of the wire rings.
 19. The appliance to beimplanted, described in claim 5 and characterized by that an expandingelement is filled in a space between said film member and each of thewire rings.